OREANDA-NEWS. A court in the Chinese Dandong city on Wednesday, August 11, sentenced an entrepreneur from Canada, Michael Spavor, to 11 years in prison. The businessman was found guilty of espionage and dissemination of information representing a state secret. According to the Canadian ambassador to China, Spavor has the opportunity to file an appeal, which the entrepreneur will discuss with lawyers.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the court's verdict unacceptable and unlawful. The decision was made after more than two and a half years of arbitrary detention, he stressed. The Prime Minister highlighted the «lack of transparency» in legal procedures. According to Trudeau, the trial «did not meet even the minimum requirements of international law».

The priority for Ottawa is the immediate release of compatriots, the Canadian prime minister said. The authorities continue to provide consular support to Spacor and his relatives. Trudeau thanked Canada's «many partners, friends and allies» for their support. According to the AFP news agency, about 50 diplomats from 25 countries gathered at the Canadian Embassy in Beijing on the same day in solidarity with Ottawa.

Spavor and his compatriot, a former employee of the Canadian Embassy in Beijing, Michael Kovrig, were detained in China in December 2018. In June 2020, both were charged with espionage, and in March 2021, trials began.

Shortly before the detentions of the Canadians, the court of the Canadian province of British Columbia released on bail the financial director of the Chinese company Huawei Technologies, Meng Wanzhou, who was arrested at the request of the United States in Vancouver. Experts believe that the taking of Spavor and Kovrig into custody is an attempt by Beijing to put pressure on Ottawa in the Wanzhou case. Washington is seeking the extradition to the United States of a Huawei representative accused of violating sanctions against Iran.